1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric element.
2. Related Background Art
As an example of a conventional laminated piezoelectric element, for instance, known is a type described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-37307. The laminated piezoelectric element described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-37307 comprises a laminate including driving part in which a piezoelectric layer and first and second driving internal electrodes are alternatively laminated and a connecting part in which the piezoelectric layer and a connecting internal electrode are laminated, a driving external electrode formed on one side face of the laminate and which conducts with the first driving internal electrode, a connecting external electrode formed on one side face of the laminate and which conducts with the connecting internal electrode, and a common external electrode formed on another face of the laminate and which conducts with the second driving internal electrode and the connecting internal electrode. Configured on the driving part is a displacement part (actuator part) based on a slit formed along the laminating direction of the piezoelectric layer from the top face side toward the bottom face side of the laminate.
Meanwhile, the displacement part has a width of roughly several ten μm. Thus, upon forming the displacement part or handling the piezoelectric element, there are cases where the displacement part breaks from the base end part side. In particular, the displacement part tends to break at the bonding portion of the piezoelectric layer and the internal electrode on the base end part side. In connection with this problem, if the displacement part is formed wide to prevent the displacement part from breaking, the capacitance will increase pursuant to the increase in the opposing area of the internal electrode. Consequently, there is a problem in that the current will increase and the power consumption will also increase.